Alice Pearce
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{short description|American actress (1917–66)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alice Pearce
| image = Alice Pearce Gladys Kravitz Bewitched 1966.jpg
| caption = As Gladys Kravitz in a 1966 publicity still for the Bewitched episode "Samantha, the Dressmaker"
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|10|16}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1966|03|3|1917|10|16}}
| death_place = Hollywood, California
| occupation = Actress
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|John Rox|1948|1957|end=d.}}
- {{marriage|Paul Davis|1964}}
}}
| years_active = 1943–1966
| awards = Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
| alma_mater = Sarah Lawrence College
}}
Alice Pearce (October 16, 1917 – March 3, 1966) was an American actress. She was brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town (1949). Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films before being cast as nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz in the television sitcom Bewitched in 1964. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series posthumously after the second season of the series. She died from ovarian cancer in 1966.
Early life and career
Pearce was born in New York City, the only child of Margaret Clark and Robert E. Pearce.{{cite web|title=Alice Pearce|url=http://www.tvland.com/shows/bewitched/bios/alice-pearce|publisher=TV Land|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112092245/http://www.tvland.com/shows/bewitched/bios/alice-pearce|archive-date=November 12, 2013|access-date=November 7, 2015}} Her father was a foreign banking specialist, and her family moved to Europe when she was 18 months old.{{cite news|last1=Misurell|first1=Ed|title=Her Life Is Filled with Sorcery|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-american-alice-pearce-her-life/169661114/|access-date=July 6, 2017|work=Daily American|date=April 5, 2025|page=10|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} They lived in Brussels, Antwerp, Rome, and Paris.{{cite journal|title=Finally the Center of Attention|journal=TV Guide|date=December 25–31, 1965|volume=13|issue=52|pages=13–14|issn=0039-8543}} At age nine, she fell off a swing after losing her grip and landed on her chin; this incident left her with an underdeveloped chin.{{cite news|last1=Shearer|first1=Lloyd|author-link1=Lloyd Shearer|title=Alice Pearce: The Chinless Wonder|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19641011&id=PhkrAAAAIBAJ&pg=3156,5192532|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=Reading Eagle|date=October 11, 1964}} She returned to the United States as a teenager and boarded at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1940 with a degree in drama.{{cite news|title=Alice Pearce|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19660304&id=Fm0eAAAAIBAJ&pg=2298,490703|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|agency=Associated Press|date=March 4, 1966}}
She began working in nightclubs as a comedienne and was cast in the original Broadway production of On the Town (1944–1946). Gene Kelly was so impressed by her that she became the only cast member to be included in the film version in 1949.{{cite book|last=Green|first=Stanley|author-link=Stanley Green (historian)|title=Hollywood Musicals Year by Year|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XD2xNKSN3E8C&pg=PA156|access-date=October 3, 2015|year=1999|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-0-634-00765-1|page=156}} Her comedic performance was well received by critics and public alike. She was given her own television variety show, The Alice Pearce Show.{{cite book|last=Terrace|first=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&pg=PA525|access-date=October 3, 2015|edition=2|date=November 6, 2008|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-8641-0|pages=25, 252, 525}} More movie roles followed, and she made appearances on Broadway where she met her husband, director Paul Davis, during a production of Bells Are Ringing.
During the 1953–1954 television season, Pearce was seen regularly on ABC's Jamie, which starred Brandon deWilde. In 1964, Pearce was originally approached to play the part of Grandmama in the ABC television comedy series The Addams Family. She turned down the part, which went to veteran actress Blossom Rock. Later that year, Pearce joined the cast of Bewitched as the nagging and nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz. Pearce's scenes were almost entirely reactions to the witchcraft she had witnessed at the house across the street. Her hysterical accusations against Samantha, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, and the disbelief of her husband Abner (George Tobias) provided a common thread through many of the series' early episodes. She played the role until her death in 1966 and was replaced by Sandra Gould.{{cite news|title=Sandra Gould Played Gladys Kravitz|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1683&dat=19990728&id=4P8cAAAAIBAJ&pg=2582,2635507|access-date=September 27, 2014|work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|date=July 28, 1999}} Pearce was posthumously awarded an Emmy Award for this role. Her husband accepted the award on her behalf.{{cite news|last1=Handsaker|first1=Gene|title=Miss Stanwyck, Cosby Are Top Performers|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19660523&id=YawrAAAAIBAJ&pg=2736,2401294|access-date=September 28, 2014|work=Nashua Telegraph|agency=Associated Press|date=May 23, 1966}}
Personal life
Pearce was married twice. Her 1948 marriage to composer John Rox lasted until his death in 1957. In September 1964, she married stage manager Paul Davis, with whom she remained until her death. They owned Pesha's Framing Shop, an art gallery and framing store, in West Hollywood.{{cite news |title=Comic Dies of Cancer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-arizona-republic-obituary-for-alice/65549200/ |access-date=April 5, 2025 |work=The Arizona Republic |agency=UPI |date=March 4, 1966 |page=38 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} Davis died in February 1984.{{cite news |title=Davis, Pesha Paul |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-pesha-paul-davis-o/169660454/ |access-date=April 5, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 23, 1984 |pages=15 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}
Death
Pearce was diagnosed with terminal cancer before Bewitched began. She kept her illness a secret, although her rapid weight loss was quite evident during the second season of the sitcom. She filmed her last episode, "Baby's First Paragraph," on January 21, 1966. Pearce died from ovarian cancer less than two months later on March 3, 1966, at age 48. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea.{{cite news|title=Terminal Illness|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19660319&id=ijomAAAAIBAJ&pg=2135,3583774|access-date=September 28, 2014|work=The Gettysburg Times|date=March 19, 1966}}{{cite news|last1=Manners|first1=Dorothy|title=Alice Pearce Chose Happiness|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21145484/the_indianapolis_star/|access-date=June 21, 2018|work=The Indianapolis Star|date=March 9, 1966|page=23|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}
Filmography
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
---|
rowspan=2|1949
| Lucy Schmeeler | |
The Alice Pearce Show
| Host | Unknown episodes |
1951
| Nina | Season 2 Episode 14: "Dames Are Poison" |
1952
| Elsie Wilkins | |
rowspan=2|1953
| The Motorola Television Hour | Hagga | Season 1 Episode 5: "The Thirteen Clocks" |
Broadway Television Theater
| Miss Dale Ogden | Episode: The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood |
rowspan=2|1953–1954
| Jamie | Annie Moakum | 6 episodes |
Take It from Me
| Neighbor | Also known as The Jean Carroll Show{{cite book|last=Leszczak|first=Bob|title=Single Season Sitcoms, 1948–1979: A Complete Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LaUqwWnpHLwC&pg=PA179|access-date=October 3, 2015|date=November 2, 2012|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-9305-0|page=179}} |
rowspan=2|1955
| How to Be Very, Very Popular | Miss "Syl" Sylvester | |
Alice in Wonderland
| Dormouse | TV movie |
1956
| Olga | |
1959
| Emmy | Season 3 Episode 4: "Work No More, My Lady" |
rowspan=3|1961
| Mrs. Nielsen | Season 2 Episode 20: "Static" |
The Ann Sothern Show
| Ethel | Season 3 Episode 14: "Operation Pudney" |
The Ann Sothern Show
| Lahona St. Cyr | Season 3 Episode 25: "The Beginning" |
rowspan=3|1962
| Lad: A Dog | Hilda, the Nurse | |
Dennis the Menace
| Season 4 Episode 2: "You Go Your Way" |
Dennis the Menace
| Season 4 Episode 12: "Jane Butterfield Says" |
rowspan=5|1963
| Bus Driver | |
Tammy and the Doctor
| Millie Baxter, Nurse | |
The Thrill of It All
| Irving's wife | |
The Donna Reed Show
| Adele Collins | Season 6 Episode 12: "A Touch of Glamour" |
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
| Haila French | Season 2 Episode 10: "Good-Bye, George" |
rowspan=4|1964
| Hazel | Miss Elsie | Season 3 Episode 17: "Hot Potato a la Hazel" |
Dear Heart
| Miss Moore | |
The Disorderly Orderly
| Mrs. Fuzzibee, Talkative Patient | |
Kiss Me, Stupid
| Mrs. Mulligan | |
1964–1966
| Gladys Kravitz | 27 episodes |
rowspan=2|1965
| Unemployment Office Clerk | |
Bus Riley's Back in Town
| Woman Customer / Housewife | |
1966
| Mabel Fenimore | Alternative title: The Spy in Lace Panties; released posthumously |
1967
| Vacation Playhouse | Music Teacher | Season 5 Episode 2: "My Boy Googie" |
Awards
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Award ! Category ! Title of work ! Result |
---|
1966
| Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy |rowspan=2|Bewitched | rowspan=2 {{won}} |
2003
| Nosiest Neighbor |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Commons}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{Tcmdb name}}
- {{IMDb name}}
{{EmmyAward ComedySupportingActress 1950-1975}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Alice}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century American singers
Category:20th-century American women singers
Category:Actresses from New York City
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:Deaths from ovarian cancer in California
Category:The Masters School alumni
Category:People from Dobbs Ferry, New York